History of Canonical Literature of Jainas

Author(s): Hiralal R Kapadia, Nagin J Shah
Publisher: Prakrit Text Society Ahmedabad

Page 69

THE CANONICAL LITERATURE OF THE JAINAS
of Painnaga we have at times Painṇagajjhayana1 (Sk. Prakīrṇakādhyayana) and Painna2 (Sk. Prakīrṇa) as well. Thus a particular group of the sacred works of the Jainas is named in Prakṛta in three ways: (i) Païnnaga, (ii) Painnagajjhayana and (iii) Painna. Out of these the first and the last can be translated as "a miscellany",3 whereas the second as 'a miscellaneous lesson', but this is not what this special group stands for. It practically conveys the sense of avassaya-vaïritta - a fact one can infer from the Cunni (p. 50)4 on Nandi (s. 44). One may even go a step forward and equate it with anga-bāhira.
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Number As regards the number of the Painnagas it is not fixed like the number of the Angas which is, of course, 12 for one and all the tīrthas. This number differs from tīrtha to tīrtha. For instance, there were 84000 Painnagas in the tirtha of Lord Ṛṣabha, sankhyāta in the tīrthas of subsequent 22 Tirthankaras, and 14000 in the tirtha of Lord Mahāvīra; or in every tirtha the number of the Painnagas was as many thousands as the number of pupils endowed with four types of mati, a Tirthankara had.5 At the time when Nandi was composed, the names of 60,7 (31+29) Painnagas were noted while at the time Pakkhiyasutta
1. 'पइण्णगज्झयणा वि सव्वे कालिय-उक्कालिया चउरासीइ सहस्सा "
2. " तंदुलवेयालियया ३३ चंदाविज्झय ३४ तहेव गणिविज्जा ३५ ।
निरयविभत्ती ३६ आउरपच्चक् खाणा ३७ इय पन्ना ||३५०||”
From this it appears that only the 5 works mentioned here are Painṇagas.
3. In A History of Indian Literature (vol. II, p. 429) the word Painnas is translated as "scattered pieces", whereas on p. 473 the word "Prakirṇakas" as "miscellanea". Further, on p. 458 it is said: "The ten Painnas or "scattered pieces" correspond to the Vedic Parisiṣṭas, and are, like the latter mostly metrical and deal with all kinds of subjects pertaining to the Jaina religion."
See fn. 1.
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Cunni (p. 50) on Nandi (s. 44)
4.
5. See p. 26, fn. 2.
6. This cannot be dated later than the date of the redaction of the canon which is either Vira Samvat 980 or 993.
7.
See pp. 27 and 28.
8. Its date is to be settled, but it is certainly prior to Samvat 1180, the year in which Yaśodeva Sūri commented upon it.